Police probe possible ‘Molotov cocktail-type’ device at Regina gay bar
REGINA When Cory Oxelgren arrived at the Q Nightclub and Lounge in Regina on Tuesday, he noticed a suspicious black mark across a back step.
At first he thought it was vandalism — something that’s shown up before at the downtown Regina gay bar — but then he thought better.
“I noticed the black and I thought someone spray-painted the step,” said Oxelgren, who is on the board for the co-operative establishment. “I went closer and noticed the scorch marks and I thought, oh, that’s a fire. It isn’t just paint.”
It was about 4:40 p.m., just before the club opened for the evening. And there was more. A few steps higher, he saw a half-melted plastic bottle with a brownish liquid inside. He quickly called the police.
An officer on the scene said that, at first glance, “it looks like kind of a Molotov cocktail-type thing.”
Initially he said he couldn’t be certain what he was dealing with, as police also noticed a can of black spray paint sitting on another step. He said they were calling in the forensic identification unit to assist.
Another officer later confirmed: “There was a fire set on there.”
Police also photographed graffiti — reading “You need Jesus” — written on the bathroom mirror inside the club.
Oxelgren couldn’t be sure the two incidents were related, but noted he had information from employees that the writing appeared Monday night. He also has no idea if the business had been targeted. But he said attacks on the property have happened before.
“We have been in the past targeted. Someone wrote on our front sidewalk in scripture that we need to save ourselves,” said Oxelgren.
But the possibility of fire felt like an escalation, and perhaps a warning. “I’m a little bit concerned if someone is crazy that they’re going to throw something on the deck or start a fire,” he said.
Police continue to investigate.